Life Lessons - from Dad and Uncle Bern

By: Matt AKA Dad To my boys and future nephews/nieces - you can’t put a price on loyalty. The willingness to devote yourself to someone or something no matter what is an unselfish ability that can’t be overstated.  True loyalty will invoke a series of other virtues: toughness, resilience, empathy, love. Uncle Bernie and I were lucky enough to witness true loyalty everyday in the form of a Springer Spaniel named Butch.  For those of you that didn’t know him, I hope you still enjoy a sampling of the stories that he provided. He was so tough, he didn’t just cheat death a few times, he literally had 9 lives. We brought Butch home when I was about 5 years old, so my earliest memories of him are hazy and fleeting. His first daring act was done early in his life, so I’m relying on second-hand accounts in order to tell it. Apparently my dad had decided to bake a fresh loaf of bread and put the pan of dough on top of our coal stove to start rising. The problem with that was, our coal stove

 By: Matt AKA Dad A memory that stands out in my mind comes from my early soccer-playing years. I was playing on an AYSO team and showed up a few minutes late for practice. A consequence for this was that I had to run several laps before joining the team, which isn’t all that unusual. Here’s the funny part: my dad was the one that drove me to practice AND he was the coach! You read that right, he drove me to practice and then made me run laps for being late! Reflecting on that memory made me think about the different ways we can support our kids. It also brought me to a question. What type of parent do I want to be?  One of the most common types are what I think of as the sports agent. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve taken on this role a few times. The sports agent are the mom or dad who flirt with the possibility of their child becoming a pro athlete. They are the helicopter parent of the sports arena. They make sure everyone has exactly 4 orange slices for halftime or make a sna

By: Dad AKA Matt This is not an easy post to write simply because I wasn't sure how to approach it. My family and I created this blog to share stories from our lives that teach, uplift, and make you laugh. This narrative is one of the best stories that was almost never told.  That's right, the title is a slight misnomer. Personally, I've only heard the story  just one time.  When my grandfather  shared it, I was  flabbergasted. He revealed the story in the blink of an eye, I nearly missed it and had to ask quite a few questions to make sure I was really understanding what I heard! Years later, my brother Zack and I reminisced about why such a great story was never brought up again.  Now, as a father trying to instill my personal values unto my sons, I think I know why.  Nonetheless,the story is NOT the focal point nor the moral of this post.  It is the WHY that holds the value. and is the true takeaway. My grandfather, Pop Fegley, loved to tell us stories. And personally,

By Dad AKA Matt I started writing this post about fatherhood several months ago but never finished. As I started reading it over once more, I realized just how relevant it is. I decided to keep the original section regarding a parenting style/mindset but tie it into how we can apply it to the issues of today. In my opinion, the best fathers (and mothers) are strong, not necessarily in the physical sense, but mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. In fact, they are strong enough to bend, without breaking. This tends to fly in the face of popular opinion because people often think the strongest never back down, never give an inch. However, if we don’t have the capacity to understand our children’s perspective, what are we teaching them? If it’s simply “my way or the highway”, does that mean we say we love them and would do anything for them, but not enough to care what they say or think? It is our job to show them we will always do what we believe is in their best interest, whi

By: Matt, Zack, and Opa What NOT to do for your wife (mother of your children) or mom on Mother’s Day - unless she specifically asks, don’t buy her any type of appliance. If she does and you do, make sure you have an additional gift - give her a card with money in it - make her a card, unless you’re under 13 years old - forget about Mother’s Day - buy her exercise clothes or equipment - offer to sell the kids - try to cook her something you don’t know how to make (thanks for the burnt creme brûlée honey...) - actually sell the kids -  volunteer to go see your mother in law - Go fishing all day and say that you will catch a large mouth bass in her honor - offer her a foot massage, using your feet - Do a sexy naked dance. Nobody wants to see that. Especially your mom. - buy something you have to put together yourself - offer to take her camping in a tent - get her flowers...from your garden - buy her a meat smoker, meat grinder or filet knife - give your mother and th

By: Dave Hoffman AKA Opa AKA Big Poppa Huff I have a dog, his name is Barney. Barney the dog is spoiled. 365 days a year Barney and I go for a walk, regardless of the weather, at 6 AM. One morning this past winter I awoke to hear the wind howling and the rain pinging off the windows.  Barney was awake and sitting at the bedside anxiously waiting for me. Okay Barney. I put on my flannel-lined jeans and my Lands End blizzard parka, grabbed an umbrella and his doggy leash, we were on our way. We completed our twenty minute walk and I was anxious to get home for a hot shower before work. Most of the time we enter and exit our house via our garage, today was no exception. Much to my surprise, when I tried to open the garage door, it was locked! At that moment the wind and rain seemed to pick up. Perfect timing. Flannel-lined jeans don’t help when they’re soaking wet.  It was then that I remembered for emergencies like this I always leave one of our windows unlocked so I could get int